NEWS                                                     January 22, 1998
                                    
       FCC COMMISSIONER MICHAEL POWELL URGES TELECOM COMMUNITY TO
     CONTINUE DIALOGUE SPARKED BY WHITE PAPER ON SECTION 271 PROCESS
                                    
     At a luncheon meeting hosted today by the United States Telephone Association, FCC
Commissioner Michael Powell urged industry representatives to continue the dialogue
sparked by his White Paper (released January 15, 1998) on reforming the implementation of
section 271 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, pursuant to which the Bell Operating
Companies may apply to provide long distance service within their regions.

     Expressing surprise that it is considered out of the ordinary for a sitting commissioner
to make detailed proposals in writing, Powell said he has received to date "an enormous
amount of positive feedback on the White Paper from the States, from the industry and the
Justice Department."  Powell urged the audience members to take the ideas set forth in the
Paper to the "next level of detail."

     Powell again sounded a "wake up call" in the aftermath of the recent decision by the
United States District Court in Texas to strike down sections 271-275 of the
Telecommunications Act of 1996 as unconstitutional.  Moreover, Powell discussed the
urgency of implementing a revised section 271 approach in light of wide-spread reports that
numerous section 271 applications may be filed in 1998.

     Powell attributed most of the shortcomings of the current section 271 process to the
Commission's time and resource constraints.  "What I have observed is that the Commission
and the Bureau simply cannot sustain the effort required to process applications fully within
the ninety-day timeframe allowed and that we are just struggling through to process one
application at a time.  I can only imagine how we will be able to handle things when there
are 7, 15 or 30 applications pending at once from around the country."

     Powell's White Paper called for "a revised section 271 process that has several
attributes: is less adjudicative and more collaborative; involves close working relationships
between the Commission, the States and the Justice Department that takes account of their
unique perspectives and expertise; and emphasizes informal dialogue between regulators and
the industry to clarify the Commission's expectations and to find workable ways to satisfy the
regulatory checklist and public interest standard."

     Commissioner Powell's speech and his White Paper on the section 271 process can be
downloaded from his internet site at http://www.fcc.gov/commissioners/powell/ on the World
Wide Web.
  - FCC -